1. When it is too painful to try to keep ourselves
But there comes a time
small, it is time to shift. As Anais Nin observed, “And the day came when
when we grow too large to be contained and
the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful
we must risk letting go of those walls that keep
than the risk it took to blossom”.
us safe in order for us to continue to grow into
against the imperative need to change for a long
our full potential. Knowing that such tasks and
time before reaching the point of surrender, but at
quests as befit heroes and heroines through the
a certain point we come to a deep knowing that to
ages await us, in cracking open the cosmic egg and allowing ourselves to come forth, it is helpful to remember the following:
We can fight
allow things to remain as they are means death. In the case of addiction that can mean death in a very literal sense. But most often, when staying small is the fear response to the possibility of rejection from others, it is a type of soul death that can be experienced – debilitating chronic depression and an inability to find any joy or hope in being engaged with life. The pain experienced becomes thus an important call to action to break free of the restriction and limitations of shame. 2. The inner agitation that comes from feeling contained and constrained in the dark serves us well. It helps provide the impetus to crack the shell. When we know without a doubt that something in our life is calling for change, an energy starts to build within. This inner scratching can be interpreted as fear and often there can be an urge to step away from the call to change as a way of trying to alleviate the inner agitation. But very often this agitation is actually excitement. It is the True Self’s anticipation of stepping into the Light the recognition that the life that has always been waiting for us is just around the corner. It is helpful to interpret this inner agitation as “spiritual Braxton Hicks contractions”, signalling that your
soul is ready for the process to come.